Those who read X-Men comics in the ’80s, or those who have caught up with some of the classic storylines from The Uncanny X-Men, will recognize the name Days of Future Past. The two-issue story ran in 1981 and featured a future in which a political assassination has led to concentration camps holding mutants, and the deaths of many X-Men characters.

AICN was tipped off that Fox has registered Days of Future Past as a title with the MPAA. That quickly led to speculation that the studio is mining the storyline for an upcoming X-Men film. Whether that film could be the upcoming First Class sequel or a fourth X-Men title, if anything at all, is open to question. Read More »

There are a few little X-Men tidbits making the rounds today, thanks to a new issue of Empire that features X-Men: First Class on the cover and comments from producer Lauren Shuler-Donner within. Check out the cover shots below — they have some images that might look a bit familiar — and read comments from Lauren Shuler-Donner about new developments in the X-Men film world, including how we might see two parallel series over the next few years. Read More »

If you’re looking to make a biopic about Bob Fosse, how do you top his own cinematic autobiography, All That Jazz, structured around the muscular and intense Roy Scheider‘s performance as a lightly fictionalized version of the late choreographer/director?

I honestly don’t know, but it seems as if Bryan Singer is game to try. He’s got Jack the Giant Killer set up, which he’ll make soon, but is also now attached to a film version of the book Bye, Bye Life: The Loves and Deaths of Bob Fossee, which will be produced as a feature for HBO. Read More »

According to Kick-Ass creator Mark Millar himself, he has been offered the writing gig for X-Men 4, by which he seemingly means the projected next picture with the core group of adult mutants and not just a rewrite gig on New Class. He’s happy to announce this offer to the world right now, apparently, because he’s already said no. This decision, Millar says, was informed by a belief that Fox wouldn’t allow him sufficient freedom.

Predictably, there’s some skepticism about this story over at the Millarworld message boards. The thread is sub-titled “The toughest decision of my career so far”. On a brighter note, Millar does reiterate that he’s got another collaboration with Matthew Vaughn coming, based upon the so-far top-secret comic book that he’s “doing with Leinil Francis Yu in September”.

We’ve just been hearing that, in addition to directing X-Men: First Class, Fox may be interested in tapping Bryan Singer to direct a fourth X-Men movie that fits directly into that series’ established continuity. There is also implication that Fox wants him for Wolverine 2. Which is all well and good, but a man only has so many hours in the day, especially when there are already contracts signed to make another picture. That other picture is the Warner Bros. film Jack the Giant Killer, and the schedule to make that movie would seem to block Singer’s ability to make another X-Men movie for some time. What’s going on here? Read More »

Bryan Singer says he wants to return to the X-Men franchise. Of course he does. While Singer has several projects lined up — a potential Excalibur remake/update, that Battlestar Galactica feature, and what should be his next, Jack the Giant Killer — the director now says he’s interested in going back to the superhero franchise with which he had such success in X-Men and X2. But what does that mean for the series? Read More »

The great thing about a sequel is that it has a built-in audience. The problem with sequels is that, as the numbers after the title go up, so does the production budget. Very hard to know for sure, but sources have told me that the production budget for X-Men was in the $75M range. X-2: X-Men United may have had a budget of about $110M, while the cost of X-Men: The Last Stand was, in all likelihood, as much as $210M. Why doesn’t it make sense to just churn out X-Men 4?Read More »

Josh Schwartz, the creator of Gossip Girl, Chuck, and The O.C., let it slip that he’s currently working on the screenplay for the next X-Men film, a prequel/spin-off of sorts. The film will center on the other teenage characters attending the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning.

“I’m very well aware that I’ll be bludgeoned by purists, but I love its mythology, and it comes with a pretty hefty paycheck,” Schwartz told Black Book Magazine. “It’s not like I’m adding new characters like Toaster Head, or anything like that. The Hulk looks like it’s going to be terrible. And why does he look like he’s fighting against the monster from Cloverfield? I mean, with Transformers, it’s not like fans were going to come back saying, ‘You used the wrong car.’ This, however, is a different story.”

Schwartz also admits that hack director Brett Ratner “didn’t have a lot of credibility going in to the third X-Men movie,” (is this supposed to be to his defense?) and that “Bryan Singer got a free pass on Superman Returns because of his work on X-Men.”

But the question is: Can the guy who created Gossip Girl write a good superhero movie?